Ghosts
by fullmoonrisin
Summary: When Brandi is kidnapped, Mary is forced to confront some residual ghosts from her own kidnapping as well as new ghosts brought to light by Brandi's kidnapping. Can she deal with her emotional wounds and find Brandi before its too late? Please R&R!
1. Squish In the Wind

I do not own IPS or anything associated with it; save for the first two seasons on DVD. This is my first crack at an IPS fanfic so please be gentle. Anyway, I hope ya'll enjoy it!

Ch. 1: Squish in the Wind

* * *

"Morning, Squish." A certain blonde Marshal muttered her usual morning greeting to her baby sister as she strode into the kitchen and straight to the fridge. She was completely dysfunctional in the morning without some sort of food and coffee to fuel her brain. Opening the refrigerator, she found that the milk was almost empty and there was little else among the edible food still in the fridge.

"Oh, man. We're running low on supplies." She stated as she grabbed the near empty carton of milk and poured it onto the cereal that Brandi had already poured. Brandi casually flipped a page in her notebook before answering Mary's earlier statement. "I know. We were all too busy to go grocery shopping yesterday. Remember?"

Mary smirked in response as she chewed on a mouthful of cereal. "You were on a date Squish. I think re-stocking the kitchen would be just a little more important than…" she trailed off, making an odd face as she sniffed the air.

"What?" Brandi asked. Sometimes Mary could be really weird, she thought.

"Does it smell weird to you?"

"Define weird." Brandi continued to stare at her sister with an odd look until the older sibling dismissed the odor as a mere figment of her imagination.

"Never mind," Mary said as she shook her head and stood up from the counter, "I gotta get to work." She lifted her satchel onto her shoulder and headed for the door, calling over her shoulder as she went.

"Later, Squish."

Brandi merely waved a hand in a noncommittal farewell at Mary's back as she continued to study her notes for her afternoon class.

As she got into her beat-up excuse for a car, Mary still had the feeling that something was not right. She didn't know why the smell in the house was so familiar to her, but she knew it was a smell that she had only come across once before and she couldn't recall when. "Get a hold of yourself." She sighed, finally managing to start her car and put her mind at ease. After all, there was no cause for her to worry at the moment…right?

* * *

"Did you know that James and the Giant Peach was originally called James and the Giant Cherry?" Marshall asked, just for the sake of breaking the silence that had settled over the office. Working with Mary for several years had trained him to work with noise and he found it difficult to work in complete silence.

In response to his question, Eleanor lapsed into a fit of hysterical laughing while Mary let out a small chuckle.

"No, but I understand the reason for the title change." She answered, laughing again.

"I don't follow." A confused expression fell upon Marshall's handsome features

"Think about it: A giant cherry flies to New York City and ultimately lands on the needle of the Empire State Building. I'm not Sigmund Freud, but…"

Marshall nodded awkwardly. "Only you would have a mind that dirty." He quipped

"If I'm the only one then why is Eleanor still laughing, numb nuts?" Mary smirked

Eleanor seemed to sober up instantly at the mention of her name. "What?" She stuttered, "I'm not laughing at that. I'm-"

"You really are too easy, Eleanor." Mary shook her head smiling as her office phone began to ring.

"Peaches and Herb law offices, you've reached Peaches."

"Peaches my ass." Marshall muttered, but then noticed that Mary's light mood was quickly dissipating. Marshall could only guess at who was on the other end of that phone call, but he knew that posture and facial expression. Something was horribly wrong. Eleanor sensed it too, but chose to at least busy herself with paperwork while she listened.

"Dershowitz, you better not be shitting me." Mary's tone was low and shaky. Marshall had ascertained over the years that she only used this tone when she knew that Brandi, Jinx, and he were in danger. He suspected that could've been the case with Raph as well, but he was a straight arrow as far as Marshall knew. That meant that something had either happened to Brandi or Jinx, Marshall reasoned to himself as he waited for Mary to finish the phone call.

"Okay, I'll meet you there Bobby…bye." Mary hung up the phone and turned to Marshall with an odd expression on her face. It was a mix of several strong emotions: anger, fear, and worry among others. For the first time in their partnership, including her kidnapping, Marshall felt like he was looking at a lost and scared little care. He found it unnerving to say the least.

"What is it?" Marshall asked, genuinely afraid of the answer.

"Brandi's been kidnapped."

* * *

Well, that's chapter one. I know it was a short one and I hope to make them longer. Anyway, please Read and Review!!


	2. Opened Scars

I still don't own IPS, dagnabbit! I would like to thank anyone who read chapter one and for the one review. It is appreciated. Also, I would like to say that every bit of Marshall's trivia in this fic is from my own stock of semi-useless knowledge. I take pride in that! Anyway, please R&R!!

* * *

Ch.2:

"_Brandi's been kidnapped." _Mary choked out the words as if it was physically hurting her to say them. At the same time she fought to keep her emotions at bay and keep her mask intact. She didn't want, and could not afford, to show even an ounce of weakness in this situation; not if she wanted to find her sister alive. Then again, she almost never permitted herself to show any "soft" emotions. Her past experiences dictated that opening up completely to anyone and wearing her heart on her sleeve would surely lead to it being ripped off and stomped on again.

Mary was only vaguely aware that her feet were automatically guiding her towards the door while she struggled to fully retain her bearings after the shock of Bobby D's words hit her. She realized when she grasped the handle of the door that her partner was not following suit behind her as he usually did.

"Marshall," She spoke irritably as she turned from the door, "are you coming or not?"

He took a moment to look her over before answering. It amazed him sometimes how easily she could flip the switch between her emotional and all-business sides; even when her personal and professional lives collided head-on.

"No. I'm going to stay here and run a threat assessment on your sister. Maybe I can dig up a few suspects." He knew that even though Mary would never outright tell him not to go, she preferred to handle her family by herself. Even though Jinx was sober she was still a drama queen and telling her about Brandi would not be an easy task. Marshall wasn't quite sure how Peter would take the news, but he imagined it would be hard to break to him as well.

With that said, Mary nodded in agreement and appreciation and went off to a task that, in her mind, promised to be more difficult than facing a firing squad.

* * *

Brandi stirred slowly. She didn't understand why she had such a splitting headache all of a sudden. She opened her eyes slowly only to find her vision out of focus and blurry. Gradually, a dark and dimly lit room came into view around her. She breathed in the air and noticed that the room smelt of the musky scent of mold and dampness. She couldn't take any more detail in as she felt her eyes grow heavier and heavier.

Just before the youngest Shannon lost consciousness, the first ray of cognizant thought entered the back of her mind. 'This isn't the kitchen…?'

She slumped over as a comatose haze overtook her body again. A dark figure emerged from the corner of the room and reached out to stroke her face with a grimy hand.

"Soon, Brandi." His gravelly voice rang through the dank confines of the small basement only to fall deaf onto his captive's ears.

* * *

"Bobby." Mary called, wasting no time in getting his attention as she left her car and stalked across her lawn towards the detective. "Inspector." He greeted.

Mary looked around with a puzzled expression when she noticed that she was the sole occupant of the house present at the moment.

"Does anyone else know?" She asked

"No. I called you first and I haven't seen any sign of the rest of your family."

'Great.' She thought, 'So I really do have to tell them myself.'

"What do you know?" She asked, running a hand through her hair in a frustrated manner.

"We received an anonymous 911 call stating that one Brandi Shannon had been kidnapped. The officer who took the call said that the caller sounded shady so we traced it back to your sister's cell." Bobby explained, holding up Brandi's blackberry as he did so.

"So you've been in the house?" Mary inquired anxiously, hoping that Bobby may have more leads that he was just making her pull teeth for.

"I did a cursory walk through," He said "but I know you and I didn't feel right picking through your house for evidence without you here."

Mary rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Let's go."

As they walked through the front door, Mary stopped short and stared intently at the deadbolt for a few moments. "The door's been jimmied." She breathed, kicking herself for always using the back door.

"You're a U.S. Marshal, and you didn't notice that your front door was jimmied?" Dershowitz asked incredulously, only succeeding in incurring Mary's wrath in her state of self-blame. "Are you implying that this is my fault? You know what, screw you. I use the back door everyday! Besides that, it's not like I have a reason to check and see every day if the locks have been jimmied."

Bobby winced, realizing that somehow he'd hit a sensitive nerve among the psychological mess that mess Mary Shannon, and if he made a wrong move he could be looking down the business end of her Glock. So, he merely sighed and moved on into the house hoping that she would forget about it.

The pair moved through the living room and into kitchen, where Brandi's homework and notes lay scattered about the room, the coffee pot was shattered, and one of the cabinet doors had been splintered onto the floor. At that moment, Mary felt extreme pride towards her sister knowing that this kind of mess wouldn't have been made if Brandi hadn't put up a fight. Some of her notes had drops of blood on them and one of the knives was laid haphazardly on the counter. It too had a little bit of blood on it.

"Good girl, Squish." Mary whispered as tears scratch the corners of her eyes. She really hoped that none of the blood was Brandi's.

"Hey, Mary." Bobby D called, effectively pulling her out of her thoughts and holding up an off-white cloth. She stepped over and sniffed the cloth, finding her nose invaded by the same familiar sweet scent that she had smelled that morning. Only this time she remembered exactly what it was. It was chloroform. Mary shut her eyes tightly against the memory of a similar rag being shoved into her face as she was forced to breathe in the sickeningly pleasant smell of the chloroform. She remembered the euphoria that she had felt as a side effect as it began to work; even while she was aware of her situation and trying to fight her captors off before she passed out. She had broken the nose of one of them after the rag was pressed to her face, and it was that same one whom she killed after he tried to…no!

She shook her head and walked away from the scene in the kitchen with Dershowitz calling after her as she fled. She did hold herself responsible for this. She could've stopped this. She knew there was something wrong in the house and she just left without bothering to check it out. Now, her precious baby sister was facing a similar predicament to the one that she had faced. God, if she actually got raped or, heaven forbid, killed, Mary would blame herself forever. She sat on the couch and sobbed quietly while all of these terrible thoughts ran themselves through her head.

* * *

Well, that's chapter 2. I hope you like it. Please R&R! Next chapter I plan on showing some of Mary & Brandi's childhood


	3. A Broken Promise

If I owned IPS I wouldn't need to sit here typing up fan fiction. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the third chapter. We get to see a glimpse into Mary and Brandi's past this time. R&R!!

Ch. 3:

_Brandi sat at the island in her sister's kitchen, flipping lazily through her psychology notes and assignment. Several minutes after Mary's departure found her fighting the urge to lay her head down on the counter top and doze. She needed desperately to finish her homework so that she could go out and do something a little less boring. To remedy her situation she stood from her perch on the stool and stretched; finally stepping around to the other side of the island. After making a few paces and stretching a final time, she froze. A strange and unfamiliar scent had caught her nostrils._

_Could this have been the smell that Mary was talking about? The thought fleeted across her mind as quickly as it had come. Not even two moments after she had noticed the odd scent, Brandi heard the laundry room door open behind her. She spun around to come face to face with a tall man in a ski mask. The man grabbed her arm as she tried to run and in response she kicked him and stomped on his feet until he let go…_

The young blonde woman jerked awake in a cold sweat from the nightmare she had just had. 'Must have fallen asleep studying.' She thought before she became aware of her surroundings. Two things immediately struck her: firstly, she was not in the kitchen of her house; and secondly, she was _chained_ to a pipe and sitting on a _cement_ floor.

"Oh, Jesus." She whispered out loud while tears of panic began to fall uncontrollably down her face as she took in the features of her cement and cinderblock prison.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her neck as a large hand dug into her hair and pulled her head sharply backwards. "Hello, Brandi." Her unknown captor spat into her ear as she began to sob. She recognized his voice, but the tone of it was so vastly different that she couldn't place his name. It sent chills up her spine and down her limbs just to hear him speak those two words. There was so much malice and anger blended with sheer mania that this man, whoever he was, frightened her to her bones.

"What do you want from me?" She gasped and sobbed while she scooted against her chains in a vain attempt to escape the man behind her.

"What do I want?" He asked, stepping in front of her to reveal that he was still wearing the ski mask.

"I want your life." He leaned in close and made a cut on Brandi's left cheek with a pocket knife. "But I think I'll just take my time taking it." He chuckled softly yet menacingly as his hostage continued to sob. She shut her eyes and tried to remove herself from that moment.

_----------------------------------------- 29 Years Ago ----------------------------------------------_

_It was a little past midnight in the Shannon house and one Mary Shannon was still wide awake. She laid in her twin bed with her arms behind her head just listening to the pitiful sounds of her four year old baby sister's whimpering. Three days ago, they had stayed up to watch The Wizard of Oz and the flying monkeys had scared Brandi shitless. The whimpering was not only beginning to get on Mary's last nerve; it was also tugging at her heart strings and demanding that she do something to ease her sister's fear. She lifted Biscuit off of the pillow that he had been using as a sentry post for five years and walked the short distance to the adjacent bedroom._

"_Squish?" The nine year old asked, checking to see if Brandi was actually awake._

_In response to her nick-name, Brandi rubbed her eyes sleepily and rolled over to face the doorway that Mary was standing in. "Mary?" At the age of four she still spoke with a very slight mispronunciation of the letter R. _

_Mary walked into the room and sat on the edge of the small bed. "What's wrong?" she asked_

"_The bad monkeys keep trying to get me when I fall asleep." She muttered as she childishly hid her face in her blanket. Mary laughed lightly at her baby sister's mannerisms._

"_Biscuit can keep them away." She said_

_Brandi perked up. "But Biscuit's protecting you." She looked up at her big sister with wide, innocent, blue eyes._

"_And now he's going to protect you." Mary stated as she handed the beloved bear off to the little toddler. "And if he doesn't, then I will." Mary added. _

"_You promise?"Brandi cocked her head up at Mary and clutched biscuit lovingly in her arms._

_Mary smiled, saying "I promise" before she ruffled her sister's hair and went off to her own bed.__"_

After her little emotional outburst, Mary left Dershowitz to finish investigating the house. She had to leave. Anywhere was better than that kitchen at the moment. All it did was remind her of her of her own kidnapping and of the fact that she had broken a promise. She had promised to protect her sister and she had failed. In one day she had done the two things that she would not and could not accept as a part of life. Not once in thirty-eight years had she ever broken a promise; not even the mundane and half-hearted promises that she made to comfort witnesses or silence Marshall. Now, when she needed to keep it, she had broken the promise that she held most important. She didn't even realize that in some part of Albuquerque, Brandi was taking comfort in that same promise amidst the torture she was being subjected to.

'I'm sorry, Squish.' Mary thought as she got out of her car.

She knew that her mother would be finishing an AA meeting so she decided to wait outside the church for her.

She leaned against her Probe and rubbed her temples to quell the stress that she could feel mounting. When Mary looked up, she saw her mother exiting the chapel of the church and she prepared herself emotionally for what she was about to do. Dysfunctional though they may be, the Shannon family was still close and Mary wasn't looking forward to the emotional reaction that her news was sure to bring. She also did not care to watch Jinx toss about so easily the same emotions that Mary kept locked within herself.

Jinx smiled and waved from a short distance across the courtyard as she noticed Mary for the first time. 'Great, she's perky. This is gonna blow.' Mary thought as Jinx reached her and enveloped her in a tight hug.

"Mary, sweetheart, what are you doing here?" Jinx held Mary at arms length and looked her over the way she always did when she was greeting someone; as if she was seeing them for the first time in years.

Mary just stood silently, still trying to muster the courage to give her mom the news.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Jinx asked nervously, knowing that her daughter had no reason to be at the church and so this was not a visit.

Mary looked up at her mom and bit her lip, preparing herself for her next words. "Mom, Brandi's been kidnapped."

Jinx's only response was to simply let her mouth fall open in shock.

* * *

Mary got out of her car and headed into the sunshine building. Marshall had sent her a text message pertaining to his findings and told her that she would probably want to hear the news in person.

Normally, the elevator ride to the top was agonizing, but right now it was inhumanely slow. Mary found herself bouncing impatiently on the balls of her feet; willing the elevator to go faster. She needed to see what Marshall knew, damn it!

Finally the doors opened and she barged out before they could completely open. She found that the glass doors were already open and waiting for her as she continued to stride into the office area and to her desk.

"Did you find anything?" She asked, putting on the professional mask that so well hid her emotions.

"Yes, and you're gonna want to grab a phone for this." Marshall smirked, knowing that Mary was sure to call up the Perryville prison warden and launch into a verbal assault after he told her the news.

"Doofus, I'm not in the mood for mind games. Spit it out." She gave him a confused and impatient look.

"It's.."

* * *

"You!" Brandi shreiked, as a mixture of shock, confusion, terror, and anger spread across her face. Her previously unidentified captor had stepped in front of her without his mask to intentionally reveal himself.

"That's right, Brandi." A contorted smile spread across his face as he began to remove his belt from his pants.

Although she was terrified, Brandi hoped that showing courage might dissuade him from hurting her too much and at that moment she just happened to have some. "Oh, so what, I get you sent to prison so you're gonna kill me?" She smirked irritably, "How is that fair?"

In response, he lunged sharply and grabbed her by the face, speaking his next words in a nonchalant tone that contrasted with this action. "It's not, but" His facial expression and tone became menacing again as he brought the belt down hard on her skin. "Life ain't fair, BITCH!"

He laughed as he continued to whip her until she was on the brink of consciousness. 'Please help me, Mary.' She thought before giving in to unconsciousness while her maniacal kidnapper continued to beat her.

* * *

That's 3. I hope you liked this one. The man's identity will be revealed in the next chapter. Also, Mary will chew someone out! Anyway please Read and Review as always.


	4. Bad to Worse

So, this is chapter 4 already. Thank you to anyone who has been reading and thank you Sagey for your reviews. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter

* * *

Ch.4: Bad to Worse

"Hi, is this Warden Jefferson?" Mary asked with false sweetness. She was pissed, and she was going to make sure that this incompetent dimwit knew it by the time the phone call was over.

"I'm Marshal Mary Shannon…yeah, that Mary Shannon. Listen, I would just like to know how you could let a meth dealer who had a hand in the kidnapping of a federal agent stroll out of your prison without so much as a peep to anyone." Mary continued to use a sweet tone, just waiting for the right moment to unleash her fury on the idiot at the other end.

"Yeah, I know Russell escaped! Why do you think I'm calling? You would think that the escape of someone who was involved in a federal case would be on the news." Her temper was beginning to boil over with each excuse that the man on the other end tried to make for his incompetence.

Marshall and Eleanor didn't know exactly what the man said to trigger such a reaction out of Mary, but she pulled the phone away from her ear and stared at it as if it had just burned the hell out of the side of her face and melted her ear off to boot.

"I CARE because he kidnapped my sister, asshole! If you had done your job and notified someone other than just your bosses, then he would've been picked up before he even made it to Albuquerque. Not to mention he could've been coming for me." She visibly paled as the words came out of her mouth and Marshall felt his blood run cold at the thought of her being put through that ordeal again. Although, as he watched her worry about Brandi, he felt like he was watching her go through it again. He had the sense that there was more under the surface than just old memories. She was out for blood, but knowing Mary, that was normal in this situation. She seemed to be _blaming _herself.

"You know what? You can take your bureaucratic excuses and shove 'em up your ass. I hope you have a great day." Mary spoke through gritted teeth as she slammed the receiver down and stalked off with her heels punishing the floor as she walked. Eleanor bore a worried glance at Marshall and he sighed. Three months ago it had been Eleanor on the receiving end of Mary's verbal flogging when Brandi was in danger of going to prison. Some small part of her had to sympathize with the man, but she also agreed with Mary that he should've notified someone of Russell's escape.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" Eleanor asked

"I will. She needs some time to cool off." Marshall stated as he picked up a file off of his desk and began to read it.

* * *

Peter sat nervously at his desk. He had been having an odd feeling all morning. First, there was the text message. It was unlike Brandi not to take his calls or messages, and the last time she didn't it turned out that she had been arrested. There was also the fact that she had missed their lunch date. He was going to take her to a new restaurant that had just opened in Albuquerque. She had showered him with stories of how it was her favorite back in New Jersey and she was so excited. He didn't think that she would've been likely to miss this date, and usually when she did miss dates she had a damn good reason.

He just sat tapping his foot; eyes darting to his phone every now and then. Just as he picked up the phone to make yet another call to her, Raph stepped into his office. Peter looked up with a raised eyebrow. Even though they were friends, the Dominican had respect for Peter's privacy within his own office and never entered without knocking. He also looked disheveled and frantic.

"Brandi's been kidnapped." He said when Peter opened his mouth to ask the reason for his unusual intrusion.

"Oh my God…where's Jinx?" He knew that the matriarch of the Shannon family was likely to scour the streets for her baby herself if given even the slightest chance.

"She's in the showroom." Raph said as the two men walked down the hall and towards the showroom of the car dealership.

"Ay dios mio." Raph whispered. Not only was there no trace of Jinx, but looking outside, the two men could clearly see that her Mercury was gone.

'Mary is going to kill me.' Raph thought as they just stood and gaped at the spot where Raph knew her car had been.

* * *

Marshall stepped outside onto the patio where he knew he would find Mary. Without a word he shut the door and sat down in one of the chairs. He just looked at her back, certain that she knew he was present. He could make out the very slight shaking of her shoulders every now and then; an indication that she was crying…or at least trying very hard not to.

"What?" Mary asked, finally getting annoyed with his staring, although she still wasn't facing him.

"Nothing, I just came out here to enjoy the sun and the breeze. If you want to say something then that is entirely up to you." Marshall leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up. He couldn't see it, but Mary rolled her eyes at his response.

A few silent moments passed between them before Marshall could no longer resist digging into his deep well of trivia.

"Did you know that the Japanese Fighting Fish makes its home in fields of rice and that only the males have the decorative plumage?" Marshall asked, already knowing that Mary had no idea what he was talking about.

Mary turned around to face him. "Marshall, I don't even know what a Japanese Fighting Fish is." Her tone was flat and he could hear exhaustion with a little hint of anger laced in it.

"Then tell me what you do know." He stated calmly

"I know that I blame myself for what's happening." She smiled sadly, letting a stray tear fall down her face.

"How is any of this your fault?" Marshall asked calmly.

"Because I failed." Her voice came out in a strained whisper and Marshall couldn't quite comprehend what it was that she failed.

"What?" He willed her to elaborate as he stood up and stepped a little bit closer to her.

"I promised her that I would protect her and I failed. I smelled the chloroform this morning before I left and I had a gut feeling that something was wrong and I still left her there alone." Marshall shut his eyes tightly as the weight of Mary's words sunk in. She could've prevented this.

"Listen to me, Mare. You can't go back and all the wallowing in the world will not change the end result. The fact is your sister is out there somewhere. You need to stop blaming yourself and focus on finding her. You can still keep your promise by doing that." Marshall spoke, feeling his heart break yet again for the woman in front of him.

"I was trained." She said, her voice quivering. This time Marshall knew what she meant, and by the vacant look in her eyes he could tell that she was off someplace else. That place was the basement that she had been chained up in.

"I'm trained to deal with that and I almost got raped…even killed." She began to sob that heart wrenching sob that was made all the more heartbreaking in that she was so strong. "Brandi is completely inexperienced." She nearly collapsed as she sobbed and Marshall caught her and held her, just letting her cling to him for dear life. He knew Mary was right. Brandi had grown a lot, but when it came to life or death situations, the girl probably couldn't be trained to escape a cereal box. On the other hand, Marshall had noticed that Mary and Brandi were more alike than they seemed to be at first glance. He wouldn't be surprised if Brandi had a few tricks up her sleeve.

The two Marshals looked up when they heard they patio door open and saw Stan standing there.

"Spanky's just arrived at the courthouse for interrogation. Do you think you're up to it, Mary?"

Mary simply nodded and wiped away the remnants of her emotional breakdown as she made her way past Marshall and back into the office.

* * *

Russell sat quietly in anticipation. He was enjoying his little game with Brandi. Every little scream she made and every quiver of fear only served to make him want more. They were intoxicating to him in his state of insanity. He sat back in his chair and puffed on a cigarette as he surveyed his handy work. There were now two cuts on her face: one on the left cheek and on across the forehead. There were various purple, black, red, and yellow bruises all across her arms and torso, and he was pretty sure he'd broken a couple ribs. To anyone else it was a pitiful sight, but to him it was beautiful and he wasn't done yet.

He stood up from his chair wearing that same maniacal grin and stepped over to her. Leaning over, he brushed her cheek. Even asleep she tried to shy away from his touch, but he wasn't having any of it.

He muttered an "Aww." Before he took his cigarette and jammed it into some exposed flesh on her chest. This caused her to scream and he back-handed her across the face.

"WAKE UP!' He screamed as she continued to writhe and scream in agony. All the movement was aggravating other wounds and making them more painful.

"FUCK YOU!" Brandi screamed back at him. Rage was burning in her eyes as he stepped back from her.

He paused and brought his hand to his chin in thought. "Hey, that sounds like a good idea." The twisted smile that she was sure would haunt her nightmares returned as he stepped closer and ground his hips into hers. She winced with the pain that it brought to her various injuries, and then her eyes widened in terror when she heard the distinct sound of a zipper being pulled.

* * *

Mary walked swiftly through the doors of the Courthouse. She didn't even bother stopping when she flashed her badge; she merely held it out for the Marshal on post to see and kept moving. She prayed that Spanky would know something about Russell that would help them find Brandi. As she neared the interrogation room, she began to get nervous. It hit her that this would be the first time she laid eyes on him since that night in the basement. Since he had held a gun to her head and then put a bullet in Chuck's brain. Since he had almost cut her thumbs off.

'Oh God.' She thought as she leaned on a nearby wall for support. She could still feel the muzzle of the gun on the side of her head and she could still feel the clippers laying dangerously on her thumbs. In the back of her mind she couldn't help but wonder what Brandi was being put through. Catching her breath, she stood from the wall and walked into the interrogation room with one thing on her mind: Find Squish. She would not be intimidated by old memories when her sister's life hung in the balance.


	5. Thank You Spanky

Well, here is Chapter 5. I thank you for the reviews and I'm glad to know that you are anxious to see what happens next. Anyway, please continue to R&R.

Ch. 5: Thank You Spanky

* * *

"Well, well." The sound of the opening door had gotten Spanky's attention. "If it ain't Marshal Mary. Long time no see." He leaned back in his chair and looked up at her tauntingly as she sat down. "What can I do for you?"

Mary felt her anger begin to rise. He knew what she wanted already and he was playing on her previous encounter with him to try and intimidate her. Even after his son had been placed in a good home; a home the boy wouldn't even have if it weren't for Brandi. _How dare he? _How dare he try to play mind games with her when by all rights he still owed the Marshal Service for that? He may have repaid her sister when he spoke to her attorney after she'd been arrested, but he still owed Mary for her time in that basement.

She just shook her head and held her temper for the moment. She needed to think clearly to find out what she needed to know. Flying off the handle was only going to get her forcibly removed from his throat and the interrogation room.

Clearing her throat, she answered calmly. "I need you to tell me what you know about Russell. Where would he stay if he were in Albuquerque?"

Spanky shrugged and rolled his head to one side. "I can't tell you that?"

"Can't or won't?" Mary went right for the throat. She didn't have the time to beat around the bush. "You're protecting him. Why?"

He snorted at the question. "You should know. I saw your sister's rap sheet when that FBI jackass was talkin' to me. You've been pulling strings and turning blind eyes for a while."

Mary stared with her mouth agape for a moment, taken aback by his statement. He didn't even know her and he had hit the nail right on the head. She had to admit that even in the basement she had a feeling that he was an astute man. There must be a reason one becomes the leader of a motorcycle gang and a drug ring, she mused to herself.

"That's different." She stammered incredulously, still in awe that for as closed-off and private as she was, she had been so easy for yet another person to figure out.

"How so?" He leaned forward on the table and squinted his eyes at her.

"She's my baby sister. It's my responsibility to protect her."

Spanky picked up on the tail end of her sentence. "And Russell is the closest thing I have to a brother. It is my responsibility to protect him." He stopped short of finishing the rest of his statement, but Mary could see it clearly in his eyes. 'Because I couldn't protect my own brother.'

She sighed, "Look, Spanky…Neil. Russell is too far gone to protect. We'll get him with or without your help, and he's gonna go back to prison and possibly even face the death penalty." She swallowed hard, hoping again that he would be found before murder was added to the list of his charges. "Anyway, if you don't help us you will only hurt yourself. If you have valuable information that could help us find him, then by law you are just as culpable if you don't tell us. That deal you got for your reduced sentence when your baby got a new home will be thrown out the window. Is that what you want?"

Spanky sat in silence for a few moments. He seemed to be somewhat conflicted and Mary watched as various emotions played across his face. First there was sadness, then anger, and then guilt.

"Look, I know you blame yourself." Spanky met Mary's eyes when she spoke. "You feel guilty because you couldn't save your brother, and now you go through life believing that it's your fault he's dead. You wish you could go back and stop him from taking the drugs." Spanky nodded slowly at her words and a single tear escaped his eye as he stared off into space.

"I feel the same right now. I feel guilty because I smelt the chloroform and didn't recognize it, guilty because I didn't trust my gut instinct and make sure she was safe in the house, guilty because I didn't notice that my door was jimmied, and guilty because I promised to protect her and I didn't. She still has a chance though." Mary paused, thinking her next words through carefully.

"If you really want to help someone then help me protect my sister. Do it for your brother." She reached out and grabbed one of his cuffed hands.

A few silent moments passed between them before Spanky nodded silently and whispered. "Okay."

* * *

"Where do you think she could've gone?" Peter asked as he and Raph drove down the street in search of Jinx.

"Your guess is as good as mine." He answered as he scanned the streets looking for the familiar red Mercury. Then he remembered a few things that Mary had confided to him about Jinx recently. He remembered that she had been ecstatic about her mother finally moving out and getting a job, but she had also expressed worry that Jinx may have been preparing to fall off the sobriety wagon.

"Turn here." Raph said. He recognized one of the streets that led to the dance studio.

When they pulled up outside the studio, both men breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the Mercury parked outside. They walked up and looked in the window to see Jinx in a heap on the floor; surrounded by various family photos and bawling her eyes out. Peter was the first to go inside and offer some kind of comfort to the woman.

"Look at this one." Jinx sobbed. She held up a photo of two blonde girls. The smaller of the two, obviously Brandi, was wearing a tutu and doing a ballet pose. Mary, the bigger one, was wearing worn out jeans and a rolling stones t-shirt that was too big for her frame at that age. She was also making rude gestures behind Brandi's back and laughing.

'Some things never change.' Peter and Raph both thought as they looked at the picture and realized that the sisters did the same things today. They also took note of the closeness that the photo seemed to capture.

"I wonder…if we'll ever see her again." Jinx hiccupped.

"I'm sure Mary will find her." Raph smiled reassuringly. He didn't know much about WITSEC from what Mary had told him and from the single book she had given him, which he knew to be the only book ever written about WITSEC, but he did know that Mary had some of the best technology in the world at her disposal.

"How do you know?" Jinx gasped, beginning to lay on the drama.

"I just know that Mary won't let this go until she finds Brandi." He said, choosing not to say how he REALLY knew, as it would involve revealing Mary's real job to Jinx and Peter, although he suspected that Peter knew more than he let on.

Jinx seemed to take that as a suitable answer and the two men joined her on the floor; looking through various photos.

* * *

"Russell owns a house somewhere on the outskirts of town. I don't remember the address." Spanky said, looking like he was trying to think clearly.

"If he's not there he may be in that house where I kept you." Mary cringed yet again at the memory of that cold, wet basement.

"Is there anything else? Phone number? Car?" Mary asked, hoping to get some solid information.

"He wouldn't have a phone if he was planning something like this, but he drives a black Cobalt. I don't know the license plate number."

"That's alright. We can track it." Mary said, standing up from her chair. "Thank you Spanky." She said as she turned to leave.

"Wait."

Mary turned around and looked Spanky in the eyes and he merely nodded, saying "I hope you find her."

She nodded a silent thanks before turning and exiting the room.

Behind the two way mirror, Marshall had stood watching the entire exchange. He had to say that he was impresses with Mary, and Spanky for that matter. He had watched Mary go into that room determined to hate Spanky just as Spanky had tried to get under her skin. And somehow over the course of the interrogation she had forgotten her hatred (something that was almost impossible for Mary to do.) AND forged a connection with the man who had held her at gun point, shot her sister's boyfriend and threatened to cut off her thumbs. Both of them had shown growth in that short time. Mary in willingly putting aside her past experiences with the man, and Spanky in helping someone else for a change...without any real obligation to do so.

* * *

"Dershowitz." Mary greeted after Eleanor opened the door for the detective. "Tell me you have something."

"As a matter of fact, I do." He pulled the file from under his arm and opened it.

"I just finished interviewing your neighbors to see if any of them noticed anything suspiscious. A few of them reported seeing a black car scanning the neighborhood in the past couple of days. I hear spanky mentioned a black Cobalt?"

"Did you get a plate number?" Marshall asked, standing from his desk and grabbing his coat.

"I did indeed, and I ran it for you. VSD 02C, registered to a Russell Carson; birth name Russell Jefferson. Address: 1714 west 23rd."

"I love you so much right now." Mary stepped forward, giving Bobby a kiss on his head and smearing chapstick on it. "My bad." She said, buffing it off.

"Come on, Marshall." Mary said, holstering her Glock and heading for the door. "Let's go see Russell."

Bobby and Eleanor just stood in the office after the rapid departure of the pair and Eleanor said "Why does Jefferson sound so familiar?"

* * *

Brandi shivered in the coldness of the basement. She prayed that she would be found soon as she sat in the complete darkness that Russell had left her in after he violated her. He had changed his game. He had gone from solely violent behavior to playing mind games with her and then abusing her when she least expected it. She had no idea when or where the next assault was going to come from, or how it would be dealt. As a result of crying, screaming, and dehydration, she couldn't even scream or speak and she had a feeling that Russell was growing bored with her. She prayed with every fiber of her being to any God out there that Mary would find her before he decided that he had had enough of her.

* * *

That's 5! They're closing in! But, will Russell kill her before they get there? Anyway, please R&R


	6. Author's Note: Please Read!

Hey guys, I am so so so so so sorry that I've neglected this story for almost a year. I'm sure most of you know how it goes with work and school and other things and life just gets hectic so you forget to update occasionally. Anyway, I promise to anyone still interested that I will be finishing this up soon! Also, there is something I would like to address which I have forgotten up until now. Yes, the story does take place in the third season sometime after Coma Chameleon. I included Bobby D and Eleanor because I missed their characters on the show and so they could function as plot devices. Also, my story takes place in a slightly alternate universe where Coma Chameleon didn't end with a broken engagement…all of you M/M shippers out there can just pretend they aren't since I haven't and probably won't write overtly couply moments between them in this story. I realize I'm throwing myself into a bit of a fire with that one, but anyway, that's all. I hope ya'll like the rest of this one, and again, I'm sorry for taking so long!


	7. Closing In

Hey guys! So, all this writing has finally given me the creative boost I need to finish this story. Again, I really want to apologize for the year long hiatus, and I hope you enjoy this. Please Read and Review!

* * *

Chapter 6: Closing In

"Hi Dennis, It's been a while. How are you?" Eleanor asked in a sing-song voice that she knew would more than likely give away the fact that she was about to ask him for a favor.

She wasn't disappointed as he began to groan on the other line and demand to know what she really wanted.

"Oh, nothing. It's trivial, really. I just need every record you can find on a Warden Jefferson at Perryville prison. Birth, employment, driver's license; you know: the usual."

Eleanor smiled and suppressed a laugh as her friend launched into a series of grumbles and complaints about the tediousness of what she was asking him to do.

"You know, I haven't talked to Katie in a while," Eleanor began innocently "We have a lot of catching up to do, and I think I might just accidentally let your hacking into government files slip."

"That's it. I knew you'd see it my way. I'll talk to you later Dennis." Eleanor hung up the phone and began searching herself for anything she could find on the warden in the mean time.

* * *

"Alright, which place do you wanna check first?" Marshall asked, chancing a sideways glance over to the passenger seat. He saw that his partner at least appeared to be zoned out as she sat running her left hand along the slide of her gun. In her eyes, he saw several conflicting emotions. The most prominent were worry and anxiety, yet underneath that, he noticed a kind of calm rage. He found it unnerving when he took into consideration that she never expressed her anger calmly.

"I think we'll have better luck at the address Spanky gave us." She stated coldly

It was against his better judgment, but Marshall decided to address her current mood at that point. He wanted to make sure that she was actually in the frame of mind to go through with this takedown.

"Are you…feeling okay?" He knew she obviously wasn't, but at that moment he couldn't think of any other words to express the worry on his mind.

"He's going to die, Marshall." Mary whispered, bringing Marshall to sigh tiredly.

"Mare, you know you can't do that unless he tries to kill one of us or tries to kill Brandi in our presence."

Mary glanced sideways at him and answered in the same whisper "I don't care if I have to jam the needle in his frickin arm. He's going to die."

"He's eventually going to die anyway. In any event, he's a drug dealer. Whether you do it or someone else does it, he's likely to be shot. So ask yourself: Is one scumbag really worth your career?"

Mary simply shrugged, "No, but when he kidnaps my sister my career suddenly seems less important."

* * *

To say that Brandi Shannon looked like hell would've been an understatement. After nearly twelve hours of being relentlessly beaten and raped, she not only looked like hell, she looked like she'd been dragged kicking and screaming through it three or four times. Even still, her ordeal was not over.

The present moment found Brandi listening for any movement from upstairs as she fought through the waves of pain to contort enough so that she could get the key into the lock which held her in place.

During his last torture session, Brandi had managed to hold it together long enough to pick the key out of his pocket. As she worked, she smiled in spite of herself with pride and then froze when she heard a familiar creak in the floor boards near the basement door.

After several moments of silence, she let out a shriek when the door was kicked open and she did her best to hide her hands behind her back as Russell descended the steps. She noted with terror that he now had a gun in his hand, yet she also sensed that he still wasn't quite finished making her suffer. She decided against trying to escape at that moment, given that he had a gun and was already too close.

* * *

Eleanor was still searching fruitlessly for anything on the warden when her cell phone began to ring. She had been so engrossed with her computer screen that she jumped at the sound before recovering quickly to answer it.

"Hi, Dennis. I'm assuming you found something?" She wondered, and then listened as he began to explain his findings to her.

She took out her pen and began to hurriedly write down various details on the warden's background.

"Good…good. Thank you, Dennis. Bye." She stood and made her way over to the fax machine to retrieve copies of all of the warden's records and then she went over and knocked on Stan's door before opening it.

"Find something?" He asked, looking up at her. He had also been on the phone to various officials within the Marshals Service and FBI all day. Unfortunately, he had found nothing pertinent to their situation.

"Yes, as a matter of fact." Eleanor smiled, holding up the copies that she'd just pulled from the fax machine. "Warden Henry Jefferson, born Carl Jefferson, is Russell's half-brother." She said, handing the documents over to Stan. "Under his birth name, he has arrests and arrest warrants out on him for drug dealing, money laundering, felony grand theft auto, and murder."

Stan raised his brow in interest at something he read, "Hmm, it says here that Warden Jefferson took the post six months ago after the previous warden was found dead…" He paused to let Eleanor jump onto his train of thought and just as he was about to continue, she finished for him.

"Russell was arrested six months ago."

"Bingo." He said, picking up his office phone, "I'll call the fugitive task force and tell 'em we got another arrest to make."

* * *

As the car sped closer and closer towards the neighborhood where Russell was supposed to be hiding, Marshall began to get a strange feeling in his gut as he scanned the houses. It seemed almost like a ghost town, which led him to believe that they were headed towards the right place. Anything Russell wanted to do to Brandi, he could do without the prying eyes of any neighbors. Especially, he thought, when one considered the fact that each house was separated by about two empty lots. He chanced another glance over at Mary and noticed that she appeared even more determined and angry in contrast to how fearful and nervous she had looked earlier. She now sat staring out the windows with her eyes blazing and still holding her gun. He did detect a hint of fear for her sister beneath her determined look.

He turned away from her and almost immediately noticed a rundown house with a black cobalt sitting in the drive.

"Oh good, the bastard's home." Mary spoke menacingly as Marshall parked across the street to avoid any chance of being heard.

Once they exited the car, Mary charged for the front door just as Marshall expected her to. He quickly caught up and grabbed her arm, causing her to whirl on him and give him the look of someone who'd just been caught in the middle of sex.

"What? I'm going to get my sister."

"That's the problem, Mare." Marshall spoke calmly, "If you're going to bring your sister out of there, we can't just rush in balls to the wall. She needs you to go in there thinking like a Marshal, not a vengeful sister." Marshall let go of Mary's arm once he saw some of the clarity return to her eyes.

"Let's go." She smiled as they walked across the street with guns drawn. Once they reached the front of the house, Marshall decided that it would be best to check the basement windows to try and establish clearly where he was. He affirmed that both Brandi and Russell were in the basement, but there was also no exterior entrance to it. That left them to decide on a course of action.

* * *

Brandi's mouth opened yet again, but the sound had long since stopped coming out. Russell hadn't come down to shoot her…yet. He had come down to torture her past her very limits. He had found a new game to play with her. He would fire off a round from his gun and then hold the hot muzzle to her skin. He was just about to do it again when they heard the doorbell ring.

"Oh, shit. Who the hell's interrupting my fun?" He wondered, grabbing Brandi roughly by the chin and looking innocently at her. "I guess I'll have to go and greet 'em." He said, cocking his gun and ascending the attic steps. Once the door was closed, Brandi made the decision that now was the time. She willed every muscle in her battered body to move. Every inch was a painful burn and her progress was slow, but she was determined to get out of that basement. Her determination grew when she heard what she assumed was the sound of Russell killing whoever was at the door and she willed herself to move faster in spite of the steps that she heard approaching the door. Then she realized that she could hear two pairs of footsteps just before the door swung open to reveal her older sister and her sister's partner.

"Oh, my God." Mary breathed at seeing the state her sister was in. Brandi collapsed in sheer relief before Mary kneeled next to her and placed her head in her lap while they both released the emotions of that horrible day. That was the last thing Brandi remembered as she passed into unconsciousness in that cold, dank basement. This time, however, she knew she wouldn't be waking up to a living nightmare.

* * *

Alright, this is the penultimate chapter. I hope someone still reads this after all this time. Lol, Please R&R!


	8. Healing

Alright, so here's the last chapter, finally! I hope you all enjoy it! Also, to anyone who has read For Never Was There Such a Tale, it will be updated tomorrow. Please, Read and Review!

Ch 7: Safe

Mary sat in the uncomfortable chair by her sister's side keeping vigil as the clock on the stark white wall ticked the seconds away. How long had she been sitting there? Minutes? Hours? She didn't know. She didn't care, really. Everything aside from her sister lying on the hospital bed was just another unimportant detail to her at the moment.

She remembered those horrible minutes of waiting for an ambulance in that basement while she held Brandi unconscious in her arms. She remembered the drama of the paramedics working feverishly to tend to her many wounds. Mary closed her eyes at the thought of all the red and purple bruises and all the many cuts before continuing to recount the aftermath of Brandi's rescue. She had gone as far as they would allow her to go; she was brushed aside and told that she couldn't stay when they had to take Brandi into surgery for her deep cuts and some internal bleeding. She was positive that she probably could've used her badge if she wanted to strong-arm her way into the operating room, but truthfully, she was glad of the reprieve. She didn't know if she could face the extent of the damage that had occurred as a result of her own negligence. Mary smiled grimly. As she remembered all the numerous times that she had sat at a witnesses hospital bed as she was now, those times seemed small and inconsequential by comparison.

Mary stroked the slide of her gun, almost as if seeking strength from it. She knew she didn't need it, but somehow it just felt right to have it with her right now. Looking over at Brandi's medical chart, she debated reading it in her head for a few moments. She picked it up and skipped over the usual BS: allergies, medications prescribed, and whatnot, and went down to injuries. Each one listed was like a punch in the gut for Mary. She had seen each of them when Brandi had been removed from the house, but now it was finally sinking in. She also saw a list of cuts that she hadn't seen on Brandi and made a mental note to ask her later. Then, Mary's breath caught in her throat as her eyes reached the bottom of the chart and she read an affirmation of one of her worst fears typed in that small black print.

Brandi had indeed been raped.

The chart fell from her hands as a white hot rage for the man that she had shot earlier that day overtook her. She had seen it done countless times before, but now she found herself in the position of questioning how someone could go to such lengths just to get revenge on someone.

So what if Brandi put him in jail? Was breaking out to kidnap and torture the sister of a federal marshal really worth risking his life? Mary let out a long sigh as she shook her head in disgust. She made up her mind right there that she would make damn sure to be there for her sister during her recovery.

The elder sibling spent many more minutes like that in quiet solitude, Glock in one hand and other interlocked with Brandi's, as she sat mulling over the day over and over again. She still couldn't believe that she had left her sister in the house when something wasn't right.

Mary was so engrossed in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed that Brandi was awake and started slightly at the weak call of her name.

"Hey." She said softly, as she turned to look at her sister's bandage covered face; which, at the moment, bore a confused expression amidst the purple and red hues that were poking out from beneath the bandages.

"Where am I?"

It was Mary's turn for confusion now. "You're in the hospital, Squish. What's the last thing you remember?"

Brandi groaned in tired concentration as she lifted her head up and closed her eyes. Mary noted that tears were forming at the corners. "I remember Russell getting up to leave because someone rang the doorbell, and then I was crawling across the floor trying to get out of the basement somehow. The last thing I remember is seeing you and Marshall at the top of the stairs." Brandi lapsed into a fit of sobs and Mary just resigned herself to squeezing her younger sister's hand since she didn't know if hugging her would cause her pain. A thought struck Mary as she sat and offered what comfort she could to Brandi. Her hands were unbound when they'd found her, which meant that either Russell untied her or she had managed to free herself. Why didn't she try to escape earlier?

"Sweetie, how did you get out of your restraints?"

Brandi knew enough about her sister to know that there was more to this question and what she was really asking so she gave her the full detail.

"When he was…you know, to me, I, um, managed to pick his pocket for the keys. I never escaped because he never left me alone long enough to try anything."

While Mary had heard and registered the entire explanation, she was still stuck on the first part. She was astounded by the knowledge that Brandi had actually managed to pick a man's pocket while being raped. She shook her head sadly.

"Hey Mare." Brandi spoke, yet again bringing Mary from her thoughts "I want you to know that this wasn't your fault." She remembered that night several years ago when Mary had promised to protect her and she knew how serious Mary took her promises. When she failed to keep them she kicked herself forever.

"I smelled the damn chloroform. For Christ's sakes, the front door was jimmied. I could've prevented it." Her words were spoken harshly but were still soft as she sat there soaking in self-blame while her sister watched.

"I could've prevented you're kidnapping." Brandi began slowly, "But I would've had to go through with the drug deal to do it." Mary nodded and then smirked "It's funny, it seems like every time you make a decision to be a better person something bad happens." That observation brought the first trace of a smile to Brandi's face that Mary had seen since she woke up and she made a mental note to keep joking.

The sister's talked and bantered like that for a while more until there was a soft knock and an opening of the hospital door. Both Shannons looked up to see Mary's tall, lanky partner gripping the handle.

"How are you doing, Brandi?" He asked politely

"I've been better." She said

Marshall nodded in understanding and gestured to Mary. He chose to remain at the door to give Brandi her space from him since she may not be comfortable around men anytime soon.

"What's up?" Mary asked once she reached the door

"Stan just called. The fugitive task force picked up Carl Jefferson on Route 66 en route to Albuquerque."

"Great! Do I get to chew him out again?" Mary asked, already running over the possible insults in her head.

"I believe we all get a turn actually."

Mary snorted. "Like you could." To which Marshall rolled his eyes.

"Anyway, thanks for the news."

"You're welcome." Marshall said, taking one last look at Brandi and leaving the sisters alone in the room once more.

As he walked down the hospital corridor, Marshall thought about that exotic animal analogy he'd once used to describe his partner. Just as the lioness will stop at nothing to protect her cubs, Mary Shannon stops at nothing to protect family no matter how much she may bitch about them.

Alright, that's it! It's over! I hope you enjoyed it, please R &R! Again, For Never… will be updated tomorrow.


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